


Kingdom of the Blind

by icarus_chained



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Body Horror, Darkness, Dialogue-Only, Gen, Horror, Human Experimentation, Isolation, Military, Original Fiction, Prompt Fic, Psychological Warfare, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:02:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icarus_chained/pseuds/icarus_chained
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three men, remnants of a military unit, are caught in a pitch-black base when they begin to realise that their previous understanding of their circumstances may have been ... somewhat off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kingdom of the Blind

**Author's Note:**

> Tiny original ficlet for a prompt. Dialogue only format. Warnings for language, and my complete and utter lack of knowledge about the military, its ranking system or its tactics -_-;

**Lieutenant:** "Doesn't make sense. It doesn't make _sense_."

 **Corporal:** "Sir?"

 **Lieutenant:** "... Do me a favour. Try the surface elevator, corporal. Find the button and push it, will you?"

 **Corporal:** "But ..."

 **Lieutenant:** "Just. Just go with me on this. Alright? Try the elevator."

*screech and whirr of waking machinery*

 **Sergeant:** "... But that's _impossible_. We've just had a full-scale EMP strike. Total blackout conditions. Not even the _flashlights_ work! What the hell ...?"

 **Lieutenant:** "Humming."

 **Sergeant:** "What?"

 **Lieutenant:** "I wondered. I thought ... I don't know what I thought. But I've been hearing it. The past four hours. The whole time. I couldn't figure out what I was listening to. The humming. Listen for it. When the elevator stops."

 **Corporal:** "... Sir?"

 **Lieutenant:** "Listen. Both of you. Shut up for a second and listen."

*dull electrical humming*

 **Sergeant:** "Sir? What is that?"

 **Corporal:** "... It's the fluorescents. Isn't it, sir. It's the lights."

 **Sergeant:** "What? But that would mean ..."

 **Lieutenant:** "It would mean they've been on, all this time. It would mean the lights _never went off_. This base never lost power. Yes."

 **Sergeant:** "But ... but none of us can see. And the ... None of the computers, none of the radios ... I mean, the power _has_ to be gone, sir! It's pitch black in here, and all our communications are down. The power must be ..."

 **Corporal:** "It's not the power. It's us. Whatever happened. It didn't happen to the base. It happened to _us_. That's what you mean. Isn't it, sir?"

 **Lieutenant:** "... Our communications are gone. Every stash of non-electrical supplies beyond basic water and food has been cleared out. In four hours, provided my watch hands haven't been tampered with, we haven't met a single other living soul down here. But the elevator works. And the lights ... the lights are still on. We just ... can't see them." *swallows* "I think, corporal, that this is most definitely happening to _us_ , yes."

 **Sergeant:** "... Presuming enemy action, sir. Why would they ... why would they take our ... Sir. If they've blinded us deliberately, why not kill us? Why shut down communications, take away everything that would let us realise that it's not the electrics that are the problem, and then ... and then just let us run _around_. Why would ... What _is_ this?"

 **Corporal:** "... If you turned off the lights and blinded somebody in the dark ... maybe you'd feel like turning the light back on and seeing how long it took them to figure it out. Maybe that's why you blinded them in the first place. To watch them. To see ... what they did about it."

 **Lieutenant:** "The lights are still up. What do you want to bet that the CCTV is as well, corporal?"

 **Corporal:** "... I don't know. How about a new set of eyes? You got one of those on hand, sir?"

 **Sergeant:** "Jesus. Jesus Christ."

 **Lieutenant:** "I doubt it, sergeant. I think he was more for giving sight _back_ to the blind than taking it and letting them run around the rat maze for shits and giggles. Nah. I'm thinking the source of _this_ little piece of bullshit is a little further downstairs."

*distant sound of a door closing, somewhere beneath them*

 **Corporal:** "... And possibly literally and all. _Hah_. Well, hell. A fine sense of theatre this bastard has, hmm?"

 **Lieutenant:** "... That's one way to put it, corporal." *racks slide* "Well, kids, let's get--"

 **Sergeant:** "The elevator works. Sir. The elevator _works_. It's usable."

 **Lieutenant:** "... Yes, sergeant. What did you have in mind? You want to head surfacewards? Try to pull out?"

 **Sergeant:** "I don't think this is the kind of game where they let you bug out early. Sir. You go to all the trouble of blinding someone and playing four hours worth of fucking games with them, I don't think you just let them hop aboard the elevator and go home free."

 **Corporal:** "... He's got a point. So. Then what?"

 **Lieutenant:** "I'd be interested in hearing that myself, sergeant."

 **Sergeant:** "... You remember what we left in the armoury, sir? We didn't have a use for it, because we didn't think some sick fucker had gone and _blinded us_ instead of just knocking the power out like a sane sociopath. So we left it, because there was no point taking out what was already gone. But now ..."

 **Lieutenant:** "Now, we've got a reason to even the game. And two floors down we've got the means."

 **Corporal:** "The CCTV hasn't got sound, sir. If that's what they're using, they don't know what we've been on about. I reckon they opened the door to come get us because we've been stood here like a bunch of idiots having visible panic attacks. So maybe we've got some surprise, too."

 **Sergeant:** "We get down there. Disable the elevator first. They were going to use it to pull out when we were done for. So cut that off. Get down the stairs, shoot anything that moves on the way. Knock out the power for fucking real this time. And then--"

 **Lieutenant:** "Then we see who really rules, in the kingdom of the blind."

 **Corporal:** "Take out the sun, even the one-eyed fucker is gonna be having some problems. I like it, sir. I like it a _lot_."

 **Lieutenant:** "So do I, corporal. So do I. Nice to see you back on track, sergeant."

 **Sergeant:** "Thank you, sir. Sorry, sir. Let's knock the bastard _off_ it, sir."

 **Lieutenant:** "Yes indeed. Well then. We've got an eternal night to bring about. Let's not piss about, lads. Take point, sergeant, and lay on, MacDuff."

 **Sergeant:** "Aye sir. And the devil take hindmost, sir?"

 **Lieutenant:** "You know what? The bastard's welcome to come try it, sergeant. Let the devil come and try."

 **Corporal:** "... And hi-ho Silver and all."


End file.
